The present invention relates to a digital radio frequency (RF) receiver, and more particularly to a digital RF receiver which changes only setting variables in a single receiver so that it can implement multi-mode reception, Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) reception, and bandwidth extension reception.
RF transmission/reception signals for use in wireless communication generally have different bands and different bandwidths according to various communication standards, and may also have a plurality of bands and a plurality of bandwidths in only one standard as necessary.
In recent times, a new communication standard has been proposed to increase a signal transfer rate, and the MIMO scheme and the bandwidth extension technology capable of simultaneously transmitting signals through a plurality of bands have also been proposed, such that wireless communication RF transmission/reception characteristics have become more diverse and complex.
The related arts of the present invention are disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2000-0066935 (entitled “CIRCUIT AND DEVICE FOR RECEIVING RF SIGNALS IN MOBILE COMMUNICATION TERMINAL”), Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2001-0010375 (entitled “APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING/RECEIVING MULTI-BAND HIGH-FREQUENCY SIGNAL OF MOBILE COMMUNICATION TERMINAL), and Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2001-0104054 (entitled “RF RECEIVER FOR USE IN MOBILE COMMUNICATION TERMINAL).
However, according to a conventional RF receiver based on analog technology, a new RF receiver is designed/manufactured whenever a new standard is proposed and its associated band and bandwidth are newly added, such that an RF reception function chip is developed and applied to a terminal (hereinafter referred to as a user equipment (UE)), resulting in an increase in time and cost needed for such development.
In addition, when manufacturing a UE capable of supporting a variety of communication standards, a plurality of chips capable of restrictively supporting only individual standards are unavoidably mounted to the UE, such that the size and power consumption of the UE are unavoidably increased.
In addition, if a requested signal has a high transfer rate, the conventional RF receiver simultaneously receives signals of multiple antennas or simultaneously receives signals through multiple bands, such that the RF receiver becomes more complicated in construction.